News

Charges lead to decrease in car park use

Published

9 years ago

September 13, 2016

shutterstock_295391240 CAR PARK usage in six car parks has decreased following the introduction of parking charges last year, a report has found.

In July 2015, Pembrokeshire County Council introduced charging mechanisms into six car parks that previously did not charge.

Car parking charges were introduced in High Street (St Dogmaels), Station Hill (Goodwick), St Thomas Green (Haverfordwest), Rifleman’s Field (Haverfordwest), Mart Ground (Crymych) and Station Road (Pembroke).

A review was carried out to look at the impact of the charges and that found that the usage of the car parks had decreased due to the new charges.

Only St Dogmaels experienced a rise in its usage in the past year.

It was also stated in the report that usage of the Rifelman’s Field car park had dropped considerably.

On Monday, September 12, Cabinet members were presented with the findings but they did not mention the drop in usage at five of the six car parks.

Cabinet member for Transportation, Cllr Rob Lewis said: “Cabinet carried out a review of non-charging car parks and introduced a charging structure on some of the parks in this authority. This took place due to a scrutiny report which happened on June 4.

“We introduced charging into six sites in Pembrokeshire back in July last year and we added that we have a report back 12 months later to monitor the impact the charges have had.

“Some of the findings are similar throughout all of them but I will highlight a few things that have been picked up.

“We’ve introduced pop and shop bays in quite a number of Car parks and these have proved quite successful and some of the businesses have recognised that they are being used for the right purposes.

“In St Dogmaels, we are currently undertaking further discussions on the impact of the RNLI, obviously we don’t want to impact on their very important work so we want to look further at what we can do to support the RNLI in St Dogmaels.

“In Crymych, we’re looking at taking on further discussions as the community council have come forward with a proposal on how we could manage the car park in the future so we will have further discussions to look at the options and they are quite keen.”

Cllr Huw George said: “I don’t think people fully realise the challenges we are under and I’m looking at the charges, for example 4 hours is 60p, that compares well with other authorities because if you go to other authorities you’re talking £2 for the same sort of time and I hope the people of Pembrokeshire will come forward and say how can we help in keeping a service.”

Cllr Jamie Adams said it was pleasing that the council had recognised that the council has realised that there are some areas where charging is not appropriate.

As part of a number of recommendations Charges and Tariffs in Station Hill, Goodwick, will remain unchanged.

At St Thomas Green in Haverfordwest there is no proposal to change any of the tariffs or charge structure.

There will also be no change in Station Road in Pembroke despite all three seeing reduced usage.

Only Rifleman’s Field in Haverfordwest will see a change in its 24 hour tariff to 0.80p in order to encourage workers to park and reduce some on street issues.

The 4 hour tariff will also be removed in the hope that people wishing to park for 4 hours can use the St Thomas Green car park.

Crime

Man charged with strangulation and assault offences after October incident

Published

17 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

A MAN recorded in court as having no fixed abode has appeared before magistrates charged with intentional strangulation and two further assault offences.

Michael Sudbury, 50, whose address was not read out in court, but in Herald records is Glan Hafan, Llangwm, appeared before the bench facing multiple charges.

The charges relate to an incident on 22 October 2025 and include:

Intentional strangulation, contrary to section 75A of the Serious Crime Act 2015
Common assault
Assault by beating

No further details of the alleged incident were opened in court, and no plea was entered at this stage.

Sudbury was remanded on conditional bail, with the case listed to return to magistrates later this month.

Crime

Haverfordwest man sent to Crown Court on multiple serious charges

Published

40 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

Defendant remanded in custody

A HAVERFORDWEST man has been sent to Swansea Crown Court to stand trial on a series of A 49-year-old Haverfordwest resident has been committed to Swansea Crown Court to face trial on multiple serious charges deemed too grave for magistrates to handle.

David Guy, of Market Street, Haverfordwest, appeared before Haverfordwest magistrates facing a series of allegations stemming from a single case. The charges, which were not detailed in open court, include:

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
A second count of assault
Criminal damage
An additional allegation of interpersonal violence
A public order offence

Magistrates declined jurisdiction, determining that the matters exceeded their sentencing powers, and sent the case in its entirety to Swansea Crown Court.

Guy was remanded in custody pending his next appearance. The court register notes: “Sent to Crown Court for trial in custody – next hearing at Swansea Crown Court.”

A date for the initial Crown Court hearing will be set administratively. Guy will remain in custody until then.

The Pembrokeshire Herald will provide further updates as the case progresses in the Crown Court.

Crime

Castlemartin man back before magistrates over multiple alleged assaults

Published

46 minutes ago

December 14, 2025

Court Reporter

Defendant remanded on conditional bail ahead of further hearing

A CASTLEMARTIN man has appeared repeatedly before magistrates this month over a string A 40-year-old man from Castlemartin has made repeated appearances before magistrates this month in connection with a series of serious alleged offences, including assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH), intentional non-fatal strangulation, common assault, and criminal damage.

Anthony Alcock, of Pwll Street, Castlemartin, is facing six linked charges stemming from incidents said to have occurred earlier this year. These appear to relate to the same complainant in what is understood to be a single ongoing domestic abuse prosecution.

During recent administrative hearings at Haverfordwest Magistrates’ Court, Alcock did not enter pleas while matters of bail and case management were addressed.

Charges Include:

Assault occasioning actual bodily harm (ABH)
Intentional non-fatal strangulation
Common assault on a woman
Criminal damage in a domestic context
Additional assault allegations involving the same complainant
Breach of bail conditions

Alcock was initially granted conditional bail but was subsequently brought before the court on two occasions for alleged breaches. On those instances, magistrates remanded him in custody ahead of further hearings. He was later re-granted conditional bail, subject to strict conditions such as no contact with the complainant and exclusion from specified locations.

Magistrates have now declined jurisdiction, ruling that the case—particularly the more serious charges involving non-fatal strangulation—is too grave for summary trial. It has been committed to Swansea Crown Court for plea, trial, or sentencing.

No detailed evidence has been presented in open court at this preliminary stage. Alcock remains on conditional bail pending his next appearance at the Crown Court.